How to account for heel/toe bias?

[dustm]

I am just getting interested in slalom and I have been working a local parking garage on the regular. I do not have a true slalom deck but have been riding a 31" wb pumping setup.

I can turn very hard either direction to the point of loosing traction but my heel side turn actuates the front truck less relative to the rear truck than it does toe side. The result is a balanced front/rear loss of traction while turning toe side and a rear-biased slide heel side.

I have seen boards with wedges glued to the top of the deck on one side and not the other, but can you put a riser under one side of the truck to get the same effect? I'm thinking about starting with 1/8" under the heel side of my front truck only.

Maybe what I need is a stiffer deck that does not twist, actuating front and rear trucks to the same angle no matter what? Or should I just practice more and try to dig that heel in?

Bryan

[GoGreenLongboarding]

I'd say sit over your back foot, and steer with your front foot... other than that, play with foot position, and just practice.

[Xgecko]

if your rear foot is too square across the board you will have too much leverage on the board and you will slide the board especially on your toe side turns. I noticed this myself while running cones on a warm day last week, and I solved the problem by turning my toes forward a bit while I was skating. If you have a toe stop lean forward a bit more on your heel side turns.

[Pinhead]

I have seen boards with wedges glued to the top of the deck on one side and not the other, but can you put a riser under one side of the truck to get the same effect? I'm thinking about starting with 1/8" under the heel side of my front truck only.



Bryan

Wedging the trucks side to side sounds like a bad idea.

Do you have positive front wedge, negative back, and softer wheels in back?
These changes could help some.

[Wells]

Sideways wedging will just twist your deck or make it turn when you stand flat on it. This will be frustrating. Don't do it.

[Tim Robinson]

If its loss of traction your getting then you could try this idea.
Ihave the reverse on the front but could have lime and yellow at front. I was riding on a very hot day and getting a mushy slide from the rear on heal side turns from riding too soft a wheel for my weight and the heat so I just swapped that 1 wheel to lime from the front and it felt better. Now with cooler weather i cant tell the difference.

[Christophish]

Sick graphic on that board Tim. And the wheel combo seems like a simple solution to the problem.

[bredler]

Sideways wedging will just twist your deck or make it turn when you stand flat on it. This will be frustrating. Don't do it.

Wedging the trucks side to side sounds like a bad idea.

Do you have positive front wedge, negative back, and softer wheels in back?
These changes could help some.

He's not talking about the trucks. He's talking about foam wedges on top under the griptape.

Dustm: The foam is more as a toe stop than to accentuate turning in one direction.

If you're just using regular indy style skateboard trucks, you're already at a disadvantage, but you can still get the stoke up and hit it hard.

Here's some tips:
-Wedge both of your trucks a lot with the skinny end of the wedge pointing forward.
-Put softer wheels in the back. Put harder wheels in the front (like 80a/83a).
-Point your toes more toward the direction you're going, you want a very forward-facing
stance for slalom.
-When you turn, try to keep weight on your board evenly or a little towards the back.
-Only turn with your front foot, try to keep your back foot planted right over the back truck.
-Sharp turns with sideways pressure in the back is what you do to pump.
-When you turn toeside, turn hard with your front foot, keep your back foot weighted for grip and lift your heel a little and give the board a little sideways kick.

HAVE FUN AND CONVINCE MORE PEOPLE TO SKATE SLALOM WITH YOU!!!

[Christophish]

but can you put a riser under one side of the truck to get the same effect? I'm thinking about starting with 1/8" under the heel side of my front truck only.

This sounds more like wedging the trucks to me.

@Bryan... just go for wedging the top of your deck as if you were adding concave to one side. I've done that to my toeside over my rear truck.

[bredler]

oh, my bad. yeah seriously don't do that.

[dustm]

Haha, ok, I won't wedge the truck funny. That is what I was asking about... I figured it probably was not a great idea. I appreciate the answers!

To answer the questions presented, this is my 31" WB LDP setup: LDP deck hiding in a scratch and dent

The trucks are Randal 150s wedged +12' front and -8' rear. I'm running 78mm 75a Blast Waves but I do have some seemingly grippier 69mm 75a Sector 9 slalom wheels. I could try those on the rear and the waves in the front maybe? I could wedge the rear down a bit more.

I will try to work on my stance first and see what happens. After that maybe some more wedging adjustment and perhaps then a camber wedge on the deck if those things don't work.

I do have some 149 Indys... I know you said those are a disadvantage but with a Randal up front how would one do in the rear?

Thanks guys.
Bryan

[dustm]

You know what, I was just reading and realized I have been measuring WB wrong. My WB is actually 29.5"